September 1987

Toni Morrison published Beloved on September 16, 1987, a novel about a formerly enslaved woman haunted by the ghost of her dead daughter, based on the true story of Margaret Garner. The book won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1988 and is widely considered one of the greatest American novels ever written. Morrison later won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993, in part for this work, becoming the first Black American woman to receive the honor.

The Cosby Show spinoff 'A Different World,' set at the fictional Hillman College, premieres on NBC and becomes the second-highest-rated show on television, depicting HBCU life and Black college culture to a massive mainstream audience.

A Different World, a spin-off of The Cosby Show set at a fictional Historically Black College, premieres and becomes one of the highest-rated shows on television. It shapes a generation's perception of HBCU life and Black college culture.